Friday, March 21, 2014

Review: Night of Cake & Puppets

In Night of Cake & Puppets, Taylor brings to life a night only hinted at in the Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy—the magical first date of fan-favorites Zuzana and Mik. Told in alternating perspectives, it’s the perfect love story for fans of the series and new readers alike. Petite though she may be, Zuzana is not known for timidity. Her best friend, Karou, calls her “rabid fairy,” her “voodoo eyes” are said to freeze blood, and even her older brother fears her wrath. But when it comes to the simple matter of talking to Mik, or “Violin Boy,” her courage deserts her. Now, enough is enough. Zuzana is determined to meet him, and she has a fistful of magic and a plan. It’s a wonderfully elaborate treasure hunt of a plan that will take Mik all over Prague on a cold winter’s night before finally leading him to the treasure: herself! Violin Boy’s not going to know what hit him.

Night of Cake & Puppets is an absolutely perfect read for fans of the Daughter of Smoke & Bone series - especially those who need a little something to hold them over until the last book in the trilogy comes out and we can compulsively read and re-read the entire series to our little heart's desire. Despite being a quick read, I was surprised by how invested I became in the adorable little love story of side characters Zuzana & Mik. And to be honest, 'adorable' is putting it mildly...

Night of Cake & Puppets is ooey gooey romantic in the best. possible. way. I had a big goofy smile plastered on my face for the better part of this entire novella and I'm not the biggest 'romance' fan out there! I don't know how she did it, but Laini Taylor managed to mix the perfect amount of humor, charm...and magic to make this such an enjoyable, not to mention memorable read.

I think I speak for all the DoS&B lovers out there when I say I've always been a huge fan of Zuzana. Her banter with the series's main character Karou is such a wonderful and important part of the series! I especially liked how the story tied in to the DoS&B story arc: in the actual series, we got Karou's side of conversations with Zuzana so it was fun to revisit some of those key moments from Zuzana's perspective... In fact, this new glimpse into Zuz's thought process made me love her even more. Her voice is entirely different from Karou's so kudos to Miss Taylor for bringing the rabid fairy to life in such a vibrant and memorable way (especially considering the number of pages she had to work with).

The story alternated between Zuzana's voice and Mik's and both were equally fun to read. Mik's voice was perfect as well - he was distinct from Zuzana's, perfectly boyish and thoroughly sweet ♥ Literally in an instant I felt completely re-emersed in the world of Daughter of Smoke & Bone. The ambiance returned full-force, I could imagine the streets, the people and the action as they unfolded. Another plus for all you Karou lovers out there? We get to see Karou from someone else's perspective!! Hint: she's just as mesmerizing as we imagined *fangirls* XD Yup, Night of Cake & Puppets was a blast.

14 comments:

I really need to get back on this series. I read the first book a while back and waited for the next book to come out but never got to it when it did. I don't really know what's going on in this book your're reviewing since I'm behind, but I know my library has it and I can borrow the rest of the series. The third book isn't out yet right?

I'm so tempted by this one even though I generally don't like novellas since I looooove Zuzanna! I kind of hope that it comes out in a physical copy though since I just don't like reading ecopies of novellas, haha.

I'm not usually the biggest fan of novellas either (unless it's a series I obsess on of course) BUT with the recent blinding luck I had with the Throne of Glass ones...and now this one ^^ has me rethinking a bit...Oh and if you love Zuzana you *NEED* to read this ;-) who knows, it may come out as part of the boxed set once DoG&M is out!!

I sometimes really like novella's, because you get to meet other characters from the story :) I'm very interested to see more of Zuzana and it shows that Laini knows how to write: giving another character her own voice!

You're right, Zuzana is such a wonderful character - it was a blast to get inside her head :D And you're right, the fact that Laini was able to switch so easily from Karou to Zuzana and Mik shows mad skills! I hope you'll enjoy this one too when you get your hands on it Mel xx

I *JUST* got back from reading your review on book 1! YAY for loving book 2 as well :D I'm pretty sure you'll adore this novella too and I'm positive you're as eager for book 3 as I am haha Thanks for stopping by Mands ♥

It's funny, you described pretty much EXACTLY how I felt when I read their scenes in Days of Blood & Starlight! They are just so CUTE, both separate and together, but don't tell the rabid fairy I said that! They make me happy and added the perfect lightness to Days that both the book and Karou needed. I will hopefully get to read this one very soon - certainly before Dreams WHICH IS NOT TOO LONG NOW EEK!!

Great minds I guess haha!~ They are beyond adorable aren't they?! And I agree with you: they make me happy too and they're add a lightness to an otherwise mostly dark tone. I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did and EEEP next month :-D

I loved Zuzana in DoS&B; Karou couldn't ask for a better best friend! It's been soooo long since I read that book, and eep, I STILL haven't gotten around to reading Days of Blood & Starlight. At this point, I really feel the need to just restart the series from the beginning to get back into it. So glad you enjoyed this novella, Micheline! :D

I agree with you 100% Lee! OMG now I'm dying for you to get into DoB&S...although a re-read sounds wonderfull too ;-D I can't believe the last one is already coming up in April!! I might just re-read the entire thing myself once all the books are out. Yup, that sounds likely haha Thanks girl xx

I too am not a big romance fan, but I loved this book so bad! I just sat down and read it all the way through in like an hour and then I was all smiling the rest of the day, my brother thought I was going insane and said I was smiling like a clown. Anyways Zuzanna is like my favorite character in the series, she's just so awesome. =) Great review!